Illuminated sign



O. E. MUTTI May 16, 1939.

ILLUMINATED SIGN l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' Filed May 12', 1958 Attorneys y 16,1939- o. E. MUTTI ILLUMINATED SIGN Filed May 12., 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Jdzzff/ o okk K H Patented May 16, 1939 S TAT 5 OFFICE .foscaraiiuw.friioum.

Application May 12, 19?;8,'SeIialiNoQZDLSQQ I fao a ms. (c1. 107130) Ilarly eittending portions 5 comprising a preferably inclined shelf onwhich a plurality of clear- 'ance lightsfigare mounted. Theselig-hts .6are The present inventionrelates to new and useful improvements in signsparticularly for'motor trucks and has for its primaryobject to provide,in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a device 5 of this characterembodyinga novel construction and arrangement whereby the usual pluraljity of clearance lights on top of the-vehicle at the front thereof willbe utilized for illuminating the letters or characters of the sign. 1

Another veryimportantobject of the invention is to provide anilluminated sign of the aforementioned "character for motor trucks Illwherein the letters or words may be expedi J tiously changed as desired,V Other objects of the invention are -to'provide an illuminated signof'thecharacter described which will be comparatively simple'inconstruc- I tion, strong, durable, compact attractive in' appearance andwhich maybe manufactured at 'low 1 cost. i

All of the foregoingandfstill further objects and advantagesofjth'einvention will becomeapparentifrom a study of thefollowingspecification, taken" in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein like characters ofrefe'rence fir designate corresponding 1 partsthroughout-the several views, and wherein: 7 7

Figure 1 is a yiew in front elevation bodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view through the device.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view in top plan of a portion of theinvention. L'o Figure 5 is a fragmentary view in perspective of an upperportion of the device.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that theembodiment of the invention which has been illustrated comprises a baseof suitable material, such as aluminum, which is designated generally bythe reference numeral l. The base I is of any suitable dimensions and,as shown to advantage in Fig. 1 of the drawings, said base is formed toconform substantially with the usually curved top of the truck cab orbody 2 on which it is mounted.

As best seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the base I comprises apreferably inclined plate or web portion 3 from the top of which aflange 4 extends rearwardly to provide a mounting for sign means Hi. Thebase is also formed with means providing lamp mounting seats, preferablyequally spaced apart and arranged in the lower portions of the plate orweb 3, said lower portions being formed preferably as integral, angu- Ofan empreferably carried in lamp supports .of any'suitable characteradapted for attachment in the:

' mounting seatsformed. :in the base, and it *Will be noted that theseseats, due to .the inclination wet the portion 15 ,uare inclined so:that thelamps not onlysareiyisible, as clearance lights, hori-'zontallywith respect to the yehicle, :but. also wSGIVBM-tO illuminate:the sign means l0.

An in- ;tegral lip 'Tlwmay be formed at the lower edge of *the' shelf "5stozstreng then and rigidity the same. {the base. 11 further may andpreferably .does in- ;,.clude. vertical and .walls' 8 provided with.out-

aturnedcapertured feet 9 which accommodate fas- ..--mounted.on therfiange ..-:4. -o'f the ,sbas'e .I and usu- -.tening..elements forsecuring said .base'.;in posi- .tio'non: -the'ttruckcabioribody2;

-JJZhe sign .means=...l.0. preferably .detachably allypomprises .signcharacters oflsuitable, pref- :.erablydight+lweight material,- and Imore partictularlyxcontemplate the fabrication of the sign 2 characters?Zof metal.

The sign characters are preferablyfonned ivith integral feet M which'are.lsecuredazo the flange :4 by. scrljews l2 brother-suitablefastening-elements. fll'os this end ithe flange iilmayrbe aprovided:with .a .plurality of spaced,

threaded openings l3 which accommodate the elements |2-.

The construction and arrangement is such that the clearance lights 6effectively and attractively illuminate the sign means [0 in silhouette.It will thus be seen that an attractive advertising sign has beenprovided which will be plainly visible both at night and during the dayto persons facing the vehicle. While individual let- 'ters have beenillustrated in the drawings on the base I, in practice entire words orslogans may be mounted on said base in lieu of said individual letters.

It is believed that the many advantages of an illuminated signconstructed in accordance with the present invention will be readilyunderstood and although a preferred embodiment of the device is asillustrated and described, it is to be understood that changes in thedetails of construction and in the combination and arrangement of partsmay be resorted to which will fall within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A sign of the class described comprising an elongated base adapted tobe mounted transversely on a vehicle, said base being formed from asingle piece of metal and including an inclined plate comprising anangularly projecting lower portion extending forwardly from said plateat a different degree of inclination, a rearwardly extending flangeintegral with the upper edge of the inclined plate, charactersdetachably mounted on said flange, and a plurality of lights mounted onthe angularly projecting lower portion of the plate for illuminatingsaid characters.

2. A sign of the class described comprising an elongated metallic baseadapted to'be mounted on top of a motor vehicle at the front thereof,said base including an inclined plate comprising an angularly projectinglower portion extending forwardly therefrom, a lip depending from thelower portion of the angularly projecting portion of the plate, ahorizontal flange extending rearwardly from the upper portion of theinclined plate, end walls on the ends of the plate,

said end walls including outturned feet for accommodating securingelements for fastening the base to the vehicle, characters detachablysecured to the flange, and a plurality of electric lights mounted on theangularly projecting lower portion of the inclined plate forilluminating said characters.

3. A sign of the class described adapted for mounting on a vehicle andhaving front and rear sides, the front side being adapted forarrangement in position facing outwardly of the vehicle and visible fordisplay purposes when mounted in operative position on the vehicle, saidsign comprising an elongated base for mounting on the vehicle having agenerally upstanding portion provided with an elevated sign seat formounting sign means thereon, sign means secured on said seat in positionextending upwardly therefrom,

said upstanding portion of said base comprising portions extending.substantially forwardly of the said sign seat in position substantiallytherebelow, longitudinally spaced-apart lamp mounting seats formed insaid base-on the forwardly extending portions thereof, said lampmounting seats being so positioned on said base as to support lamps insubstantially forwardly-extending position whereby the lamps are visibleforwardly of the sign as clearance lights, said seats further beingarranged to support the lamps in position to illuminate the forward faceof the upwardlyextending sign means.

4. A sign of the class described adapted for mounting on a vehicle andhaving front and rear sides, the front side being adapted forarrangement in position facing outwardly of the vehicle and visible fordisplay purposes when mounted in operative position on the vehicle, saidsign comprising an elongated base for mounting on the vehicle having agenerally upstanding portion provided with an elevated sign seat formounting sign means thereon, signmeans secured on said seat in positionextending upwardly therefrom, said upstanding portion of said basecomprising portions extending substantially for- 'wardly of the saidsign seat in position substantially therebelow, V lamp mounting seatsformed in said base on the longitudinally spaced-apart forwardlyextending portions thereof, a lamp in each of said spaced-apart seats,said seats and lamps being arranged to support the lamps in upstanding,forwardly-inclined position whereby to serve as clearance lights visibleforwardly of the sign while illuminating the forward surfaces of saidupwardly-extending sign means from a position forwardly thereof. I

5. A sign of the class described adapted for mounting on a vehicleand-having front and rear sides, the front side being adapted forarrangement in position facing outwardly of the vehicle and visible fordisplay purposes when mounted in operative position on the vehicle, saidsign comprising an elongated base for mounting on the vehicle having agenerally upstanding portion provided with an elevated sign seat formounting sign means thereon in position extending upwardly thereof, saidbasecomprising portions extending substantially forwardly of the saidsign seatin position substantially therebelow, longitudinallyspaced-apart lamp mounting seats portions thereof, said lamp mountingseats being so positioned on said base as to support lamps insubstantially forwardly-extending position whereby the lamps are visibleforwardly of the signas clearance lights, said seats further beingarranged to support the lamps in position to illuminate the forward faceof sign means on and extending upwardly of said sign seat.

OSCAR E. MUTTI.

